Both the organization’s Erosion Control Crew and Courtesy Boat Inspectors worked hard this past summer to protect the waters of Goose Pond, Loon Pond, Mousam Lake and Square Pond. Many thanks go out to the towns of Acton and Shapleigh, in addition to the Mousam Lake Region Association (MLRA), Square Pond Improvement Association (SPIA) and Loon Pond Betterment Association (LPBA), for their financial support.

The Erosion Control Crew (ECC) completed 30 projects during the 2013 season, a 13-percent increase over 2012. Each project is custom-designed with landowners in an effort to control erosion and protect the quality of local lakes. Technical Director Norris Johnson, of Square Pond, led the ECC with the assistance of ECC Leaders Morgan Johnson (Square Pond) and Keegan Simons (Square Pond) and supported by the ECC members Robert Cabana, Noah Miller, Jake Lelievre, Sam Beaudoin, Ronnie Cartwright and Melissa Carmichael.

ECC members are local high school students who are associated with and interested in protecting the waters of Mousam Lake, Square Pond, Goose Pond and Loon Pond. The ECC completed 16 erosion-control projects in Shapleigh and 14 erosion-control projects in Acton.

The Courtesy Boat Inspection (CBI) Program also had a successful season. Courtesy Boat Inspectors conducted a total of 5,336 boat inspections, with 4,615 inspected on Mousam Lake and 721 inspected on Square Pond. A total of 367 boats had plant fragments on them that were captured by the CBI Program, with 291 plant bags collected from boats entering or exiting Mousam Lake, 75 plant bags collected from boats entering or exiting Square Pond, and one plant bag collected from Loon Pond. Within the 367 plant bags, there was a total of 1,260 different species of plants collected during the 2013 CBI season. All but two plant fragments found were confirmed to be native, while two are awaiting confirmation by the State for determination of species, which will indicate if those two plants are invasive or native.